Well, I did it...made it to the end with a design! You can see my boards under "my work" tab, listed as my Fall 2009 studio work. I have posted the boards, as well as some model photos. Enjoy!!!
With the theme of the studio being Shaping Light, I was intrigued by looking into the way light can bend, move, and change shape. I started the quarter with the idea of taking cardboard and laminating it together with a flat surface on one side, and an organic shape on the other. The organic shape undulates from being thin to thick and creates an illusion from either side of the panel that this solid element is in fact permeable and light penetrates in varying shapes depending on the angle you are viewing it. I liked how it was the user that interacted with the object and that is how the light is transformed, rather than the object transforming the light. Trying to transform this into a concept for the Transit Station at Civic Drive, I wanted to focus on the idea of bending light and having the user experience the shaping of light rather than the object making a static shadow. I wanted to see how the angle of view would create interesting light opportunities both for the users and the station. In the site design, Zach and I created a sunken plaza to the north of the station platform. It is a large plaza that steps down 5 feet. We have also concentrated on creating context for the plaza to support, and a bioswale to the west of the plaza. When I started my design, the site design changed slightly. Connecting the plaza more directly with the bioswale, I created a feature at the west end of the plaza where the plaza steps down into the bioswale and a boardwalk rests about 5 feet above the steps. It plays on the idea of multiple views of the same thing, from above and from next to it. I also wanted to connect the plaza with the station platform, but still keep some security for the platform and separation of space. Playing with how the platform touches down to the plaza, gracefully and naturally landing in a trough of water to leads to the bioswale. The plaza also has small water features that dig into the ground and lead water run-off from the streets and sidewalks down into the troughs and into the bioswale. The steps of the plaza alternate from concrete pavers to grass pads where people can layout during a sunny day. The station shelter design is comprised of three major elements. The first and most important part are the panels that line the edge of the platform and the plaza. The metal panels are lined with plexi on the sides and are kinked in one corner to bend light as it comes into the station. The reflective nature of the metal will reflect and illuminate the station in unique ways as well. The panels are large yet moveable by the human hand, which was something I really wanted to include in the station. I wanted something that users could move and adjust to their liking, both for entertainment purposes and light purposes. Like my panel study, the panels are not necessarily what shapes light, it is the users who move the panels around the pin that create the light patterns and unexpected angles. At night the panels illuminate along the plexi sides which create a dynamic wall of strip lights from afar that kink or stand straight. It creates a way to shape light at night even when there is no natural light to play with, as well as safety and security on the platform with lighting the station. The next element is the roof. Steel beams lay atop the platform and much like a literal translation of the panel, it starts flat and kinks upward towards one end. Much like a frequency wave, it flows open upwards towards the sky and ends standing straight up. Depending on where the train enters, the roof opens up to the train, and gradually flattens back down at the end of the platform where the train leaves the station. The last element is the columns of the station shelter. Made of wood for a natural element that grounds the platform to the plaza, they are large and one piece from beam, to column to ground. Placed at every 14’ the columns vary in angle of the beam piece due to the changing roof plane. The column that stands straight up on the westbound platform entry stands as a beacon of entry for the platform and holds a sign for the station name. The columns stick out onto the plaza side and dig into the plaza ground where the trough of water leads to the bioswale. The columns are one of the main direct connection of the platform with the plaza, even though people are still able to move the panels from the plaza side. This term helped me force myself into learning new computer programs and use materials I’ve never used and construct something I have never constructed before. It was a learning process throughout the whole term and I would hope that I can use these techniques in the future in other studios and work. I know I still want to learn a little more into Rhino and its rendering engines you can use, because I had some difficulty finding my comfort zone in that area.
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meellen hagen . architecture student . blog . fall 2009 . archives
December 2009
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